South Australian Current Acts South Australian Current Acts124—Expert evidence and evidence of alibi
(1) If a defendant is
to be tried for an indictable offence in a superior court, and expert evidence
or evidence of alibi is to be introduced for the defence, notice of intention
to introduce the evidence must be prepared in accordance with this section and
be—
(a)
filed in the court at the same time that the defence case statement is filed
in the court; and
(b)
given to the prosecution at the same time that the defence case statement is
given to the prosecution.
(2) If expert evidence
becomes available to the defence after the time referred to in
subsection (1), or any information specified in a notice under
subsection (1) relating to expert evidence subsequently changes, the
defendant must, as soon as practicable after such evidence becomes available
or the defence becomes aware of such changes, file in the relevant superior
court and give to the prosecution a notice or updated notice (as the case may
require) under this section.
(3) Notice of proposed
evidence of alibi is not required under this section if the same evidence, or
evidence to substantially the same effect, was received in the committal
proceedings at which the defendant was committed for trial.
(4) A notice relating
to expert evidence must—
(a) set
out the name and qualifications of the expert; and
(b)
describe the general nature of the evidence and what it tends to establish.
(5) A notice relating
to evidence of alibi must contain—
(a) a
summary setting out with reasonable particularity the facts sought to be
established by the evidence; and
(b) the
name and address of the witness by whom the evidence is to be given; and
(c) any
other particulars that may be required by the rules.
(6) A notice under
this section—
(a) must
be in the form of a written statement verified by declaration (which may form
part of the notice and must be signed by the defendant personally or be
signed, in the presence of the defendant, by a legal practitioner representing
the defendant or, in the case of a body corporate, by a legal practitioner
representing the body corporate) and complying with any other requirements
prescribed by the regulations; and
(b) is
taken to form part of the defence case statement for the purposes of this Act.
(7) If the defence
proposes to introduce expert psychiatric evidence or other expert medical
evidence relevant to the defendant's mental state or medical condition at the
time of an alleged offence, the court may, on application by the prosecutor,
require the defendant to submit, at the prosecutor's expense, to an
examination by an independent expert approved by the court.
(8) The defendant must
provide to the prosecution a copy of any report obtained by the defendant from
a person proposed to be called to give expert evidence at the trial if—
(a) the
expert evidence is of a kind referred to in section 34N(2a) of the
Evidence Act 1929 ; or
(b) the
court has, on application by the prosecution, made an order requiring the
defendant to provide a copy of the report to the prosecution.
(9) In this
section—
"evidence of alibi" means evidence given or adduced, or to be given or
adduced, by a defendant tending to show that the defendant was in a particular
place or within a particular area at a particular time and therefore tending
to rebut an allegation made against the defendant, either in the charge on
which the defendant is to be tried or in evidence adduced in support of the
charge at committal proceedings.